Millions Awarded to Help Preserve the Mediterranean Coastline

The European Union (EU) awarded the international Mare Nostrum consortium more than $4 million to find new ways of preserving the Mediterranean Sea and its coastline.

Mar 01, 2013

The Mediterranean Sea and coastline project is expected to take three years to complete and will aim to bridge the legal-institutional gap in the implementation of existing policies on integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in the Mediterranean region.

“The Mediterranean Sea has for millennia served the people living on its shores as a precious common resource,” said Prof. Rachelle Alterman, founder and coordinator of Mare Nostrum. “Yet despite decades of efforts to protect it, a complex mosaic of legal and institutional regimes has prevented their full implementation. The project's primary goal is to contribute to bridging the gap between the ideals of coastal zone management and its actual effects on the ground at the local, national and cross-border levels.”

Through knowledge exchange, the project will also lead to improved dialogue and cooperation across national borders and the development and dissemination of new tools for realistic implementation of ICZM among Mediterranean Basin countries and beyond.